A carbon nanotube is composed of a plurality of cylindrically rolled graphite films that are arranged telescopically. Conventionally, there is generally proposed a method of manufacturing carbon nanotubes, wherein amorphous carbon as a raw material is subjected to arc discharge, laser radiation or the like under the atmosphere of an inactive gas to evaporate carbon and the thus- evaporated carbon is condensed on (recombined with) a carbon red or the like to cause carbon nanotubes to grow thereon.
According to the aforementioned manufacturing method, amorphous carbon, graphite and fullerene are formed on the carbon rod or the like in addition to the carbon nanotubes. Hence, several manufacturing methods have been proposed to increase yields of carbon nanotubes or enhance productivity thereof. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2548511 discloses a method of synthesizing fullerene and carbon nanotubes by means of high-frequency plasma, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 6-280116 discloses a method of manufacturing carbon nanotubes wherein arc discharge is carried out within a specific pressure range.
However, according to both the aforementioned methods, carbon nanotubes are formed by condensedly recombining carbon vapor. Thus, to evaporate carbon whose boiling point is extremely high, it is necessary to achieve a high temperature approximate to 3000.degree. C. The manufacture of carbon nanotubes is conducted under such harsh conditions, so that it is difficult to keep the amount of products other than carbon nanotubes below a certain level. The conventional method of causing carbon nanotubes to grow from carbon vapor is also disadvantageous in that carbon nanocapsules tend to be generated and attached to an outer periphery of the carbon nanotubes.
On the other hand, it has been expected to discover a new usage of carbon nanotubes in the fields of electronics, material separation films and the like by obtaining a "carbon nanotube film" that is composed of a multitude of carbon nanotubes well oriented to extend along a thickness direction of the film. However, according to the aforementioned method, it is difficult to control the direction in which the carbon nanotubes grow. In particular, it is virtually impossible to obtain a film that is composed of a multitude of carbon nanotubes well oriented along a certain direction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of manufacturing carbon nanotubes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a film that is composed of a multitude of carbon nanotubes well oriented along a certain direction (hereinafter referred to as a "nanotube film").
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a structure equipped with a nanotube film formed on a surface of a base plate portion.